Category: Sports & Recreation

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. The main reason for this popularity, other than the sport itself, is the relatively little equipment that is required to play. At its most basic level, all you need is a ball. However, the skill level required to play can be quite high. Here are the most basic soccer skills a child will need to practice in order to become better at the game:

Dribbling

This is the most basic soccer skill. It is also the first thing that every child should learn. Practice dribbling by arranging pylons and asking the kids to dribble around them. Dribbling is done with the laces of the boots while not kicking the ball.

Passing

Once dribbling is under control and kids have decent ball control, the next step is to learn to pass the ball. It is one of the most important skills. They should learn to pass to teammates and to receive passes. They should use the instep and accurately pass the ball.

Shooting

This is the most popular part of soccer for most kids. The ball should be kicked with the laces of the shoe rather than the toe. Kicking with the toe will result in inaccurate shots. The knee should be over the ball at the point of the strike.

These are three most important soccer skills for any young soccer player. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and the more they practice, the better they will get.

Becoming an elite soccer player does not happen overnight. It takes dedication and hard work over several years to build up the skills and mastery required. Younger soccer players will learn the basic skills and movements and will slowly be introduced over the years to more advanced skills. Here we look at the five areas that players will need to master in order to become and elite player.

Ball skills

Young players introduced to the sport at about six to eight years’ old will be introduced to basic ball handling skills. They will progress with more and more complex movements up until around 14 to the 19-year mark, at which point they will need to have mastered ball skills and match application of those skills. Beyond that absolute mastery will need to be achieved and maintained.

Decision-making skills

As with the above, it starts out with basic decision making and combinations and moves on to the more advanced tactics. Ultimately at the highest level complete knowledge of team and opponent tactics will be required. Elite players are always aware of where they are in the game and what the opposition looks to be doing.

Physical training

At the start, it all about fun and getting some general activity in for the younger kids. As they grow older the game becomes more serious and they start to train with advanced aerobic training and glycolytic work. Once they move on to play professionally the training becomes much more position specific and individualized.

Although soccer is the most popular sport in the world, most fans might not know some of the most basic tenets of the sport. In this article, we will cover the most basic soccer concepts.

The field

Although taken for granted, there are rules that govern the size of the soccer field. There is no set size. However, there are minimums and maximums that must be adhered to. This range makes it very likely that most NFL and other stadiums can also be used for soccer. International games require a length of between 110 and 120 yards and a width of between 70 and 80 yards.

The time

Top-level soccer games are 90 minutes long divided into two halves of 45 minutes each. The game ends after stopped age. Some countries refer to this as injury time. In soccer, the clock does not stop for any pause in the game. Any injury or issue that pauses the game is recorded on a separate clock. This time is what is used as stoppage time for the time that was lost. In soccer players do not stop playing until the final whistle is blown.

The cards

In soccer punishment for any on-field offenses are signified by two colored cards. The yellow card is a warning for breaking the rules. Then there is the red card. That is for serious offenses and sends the player off the field immediately. It also means that the team will have to play a man down since there is no replacement for the player sent off. Two yellow cards are the same thing as a red card.

Soccer is a sport that requires walking, jogging and running for long periods of time in a 90-minute game. The off-season is the best time build up the kind of endurance needed for weekly soccer games. Here is a three step process to improving endurance leading up to the season:

Interval training

The fastest way to increase endurance is with interval training. The method here is to do short bursts of all-out effort followed by a short rest period. This should be repeated for a minimum of four minutes. This protocol should be followed only once a week at most.

Endurance training

Building endurance will also take some time on the track of the treadmill. Daily runs will go a long way to building a good base that can be improved by techniques like interval training. The basic math here is that if you ran a mile for five days a week, you could run five miles in a single session. The increase in miles needs to be done slowly to avoid any injury. The recommendation is not to increase distance by more than 10% daily.

Long runs

The long run is a single weekly or monthly run that is several times longer than your daily runs. A two mile daily run should result in a long run distance of about ten miles.  It is probably a good idea to not run the day before and the day after the long run.

The English Premier League (EPL) is considered to be the best soccer league in the world. It attracts the best players from all around the world and is one of the top paymasters in club football worldwide. There has never been an American coach in the EPL, until now.

The former US Men’s National Team coach, Bob Bradley is taking over as the manager of EPL team Swansea City. An already tough just was just made harder. He is being handed the reins to the team mid-season after the current manager was fired for the team’s poor showing so far. They are currently at 17^th place in a 20 team league. He believes he can get them out of the doldrums they are in:

“Maybe I’m stupid,” Bradley said. “But I think that I am a manager in and around that level.” When asked on a radio show earlier this year if he was up to the standards of the EPL managers. “I’m not saying I’m better than these guys,” Bradley added, referring to the likes of Pep Guardiola of Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool FC, considered two of the most highly rated soccer coaches in the world.

He coached at the US collegiate and professional levels and he led the United States to the 2010 World Cup, where his team did better than European powerhouses like England, France, and Italy. His first task is to keep Swansea City out of the bottom three of the league. The bottom three teams get relegated to the lower division each year.

Coaches have multiple goals when it comes to training. They need to improve the fitness of their players and their skills. Fitness comes in many forms, there is speed, endurance, power etc. Which of these are developed depend on what the player needs and the requirements of the position. Here are a few ways to improve speed:

Running Mechanics

One way of improving speed when running is to make sure you are running properly. There are guides that can be found online that will help check form when running. Incorrect form and technique are very important. Getting the mechanics right can remove seconds from your 100m time.

Mobility

Once you work out any issues with your mechanics, then you can look other ways to improve speed. The next thing to try is mobility work. Mobility work is usually not needed for younger players but older players who spend most of the day seated can have their flexibility and mobility compromised. Weekly mobility work will go a long way to restoring that movement and allowing the player to make the most of his mechanics.

Strength

Strength training is another must for improving speed. Younger players can start with bodyweight squats as they might be too young to lift weights. Older players on the other hand can utilize the gym or weight room to build strength and muscle. This in turn will give them a power advantage and speed. Some examples would be Squats, Deadlifts and Kettlebell swings.